The grandfather of a girl who survived yesterday's stabbing death by Axel Rudakubana has demanded the resignation of anyone who was unaware of the deadly threat he posed.
In a powerful intervention, he claimed the Southport families had been let down by authorities seeking to protect their daughters, both before and after the July 29 atrocity.
Firstly, for not doing more to stop the killer, whose obsession with violence and brutality had seen him referred to the Prevent anti-extremism program three times.
And secondly, for failing to disclose after his arrest that the Cardiff-born teenager was known to counter-terrorism police – and that deadly ricin was found in searches after the attack.
He also angrily accused Sir Keir Starmer of 'choosing to protect himself' rather than allow the truth about the killer to come out sooner.
“I think if, instead of continuing to talk about the far right, he had made it clear that this was a terrorist incident, things would have been different,” said the grandfather, who cannot be identified because all the surviving children were killed. anonymity granted.
'We were not taken care of, we were pushed to the side.
'It was all about the riots and what happened to us was forgotten. We were abandoned.”
The grandfather of a girl who survived the stabbing by Axel Rudakubana (pictured) yesterday demanded the resignation of anyone who did not realize the deadly threat he posed
He also angrily accused Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) of 'choosing to protect himself' rather than let the truth about the killer come out sooner.
A car burns on Parliament Road, in Middlesbrough, during a protest following the stabbings in Southport last year
Although Rudakubana was not charged with carrying out a terrorist attack because police found no evidence he was motivated by ideology, the prime minister yesterday acknowledged that “terrorism has changed.”
Sir Keir said the law may need to be changed to reflect the threat posed by “loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms” obsessed with extreme violence.
In the aftermath of the attack, some families whose lives were turned upside down by the attack that killed Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, immediately suspected terrorism.
“Some families were suspicious from the start, but they were confused,” the grandfather told the Daily Mail.
'Others thought we should trust the authorities. For all of us, there was a lot of assumptions and guesswork.
“But when things started coming in and we realized that everything people had suspected was true, we all wondered why it was hidden.”
Rudakubana – who had been diagnosed with autism – was not only referred to Prevent three times, but also received support from children's social care and mental health services.
The grandfather said authorities had failed to do more to stop the killer, whose obsession with violence and brutality had seen him referred to the Prevent anti-extremism program three times. Pictured: A statement from Keir Starmer
Rudakubana – who had been diagnosed with autism – was not only referred to Prevent three times, but also received support from children's social care and mental health services. Pictured: A court artist sketch of Rudakubana appearing at Liverpool Crown Court
In addition, he was monitored by the youth justice service after being expelled for taking a knife to Range High School in Formby at the age of 13 and then attacking students with a hockey stick.
Because so many agencies are involved, the grandfather believes the atrocity “should never have happened.”
“There were too many missed opportunities, organizations weren't communicating with each other, there was a lack of qualified staff and people were walking on eggshells around political correctness instead of dealing with it,” he said.
While rumors about the biological poison ricin being found in Rudakubana's bedroom soon began circulating in Southport, the discovery – along with the fact that Rudakubana was accused of downloading an Al Qaeda training manual – was not released to the public until October 29. audience.
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was one of three little girls killed in the attack in Southport
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, was one of three children killed in the Southport knife attack
Bebe King, six, was also killed in the knife attack at The Hart Space in Southport
“I don't know why the government didn't open up from day one,” said the grandfather, who said the families “were told not to talk about it” before the bomb indictment for possession of terrorist material was announced.
'Most of us felt that someone higher up than Merseyside Police and the CPS intervened and suppressed the situation until then.
“But when they said they had decided not to make the information public, it confirmed our suspicions that everyone was being lied to.
“We're all just pieces in Starmer's chess game.”
When Sir Keir went to Southport a day after the attack – and hours before riots broke out around the local mosque following false rumors on social media – he was met with a hostile crowd as he went to lay flowers.
“We watched it from my granddaughter's hospital bed,” the grandfather recalled.
“He showed up, it looked like he had thrown some flowers on the ground.
'There were some grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles of the victims in that crowd and they were not listened to.
“I'm sure this has incited some people to riot, people who previously had no intention of rioting.”
The grandfather believes that if the truth had come to light as the police discovered it, the families would have been better cared for.
“We had to fight for everything,” he says. 'This has really affected the entire community, but only the parents were helped.
'This has meant that step-parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents have all had a hard time, even though we are all traumatized and struggling with what happened.'
For some families, one of the few authority figures who listened to them was King Charles, who met relatives in person on August 20.
“He came to talk to everyone for an hour and forty minutes – much longer than he was supposed to – and he talked to all the parents and he even got orange juice to give to the kids,” the grandfather said.
“I think it made us realize that we needed more people to show us that they cared.”
The grandparent welcomes the public inquiry, but says the result could not be more painful.
“We don't want to hear thoughts and prayers and 'lessons will be learned,'” he said.
“We want to see the dismissal of every employee who made a mistake.”
